


Comfort in the Darkness

by necromancy_enthusiast



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25207477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/necromancy_enthusiast/pseuds/necromancy_enthusiast
Summary: Even after the end of the war, Dimitri is still haunted, but Raphael is there to help.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Raphael Kirsten
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	Comfort in the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> It's been about eleven months since this ship first infested my brain, and now I've finally managed to finish one of the fics I've started about them.

Raphael didn’t dream too often, but when he did, it was usually pleasant. Something or another about his friends, his sister, his fellow knights, his king and lover Dimitri. It was generally only a recollection of vague memories once he’d passed the barrier of hypnagogia, and he usually slept soundly. Tonight was another one of those nights, where he was with Maya, their grandfather, and even-

_Raphael_

He heard in the distance. Soon, it became closer, louder.

_Raphael_

Now the voice sounded as if its speaker was right next to him.

“Raphael!”

Raphael opened his eyes to see Dimitri laying beside him, staring at him urgently.

“What’s wrong, Dima?” Raphael asked groggily. Dimitri’s eyes darted away from him towards the foot of their bed, but soon darted back to Raphael.

“Someone’s here,” Dimitri said. Raphael looked in the direction that Dimitri had but saw nothing. This didn’t happen as often as it had during the war, and usually Dimitri was able to ignore his visions, but it was harder at night when they had more room to stalk in the darkness. Maybe it _was_ ghosts that he saw, or maybe it was something else entirely, Raphael didn’t know. But whatever it was, it didn’t really matter to him, what _did_ matter was how deeply they could disturb Dimitri.

“Do you know them?” Raphael asked.

Dimitri nodded. “He’s just... Staring at us.”

Raphael opened his arms towards Dimitri. “Come here.” Without a moment’s pause, Dimitri moved as close to Raphael as he could, wrapping his arms around his lover tight and burying his head in his chest. Raphael rested his chin on top of Dimitri’s head and ran his hand up and down Dimitri’s back soothingly. He could feel Dimitri’s heart beat wildly as though it might burst out of his chest, his breath was quick and shallow, and he held the back of Raphael’s nightshirt in a death grip. Briefly, Raphael wondered if Dimitri would rip it unintentionally, it had happened before in moments like this. But he didn’t care, nightshirts could easily be replaced, Dimitri’s peace of mind was far more important and much harder to repair.

Raphael spoke gently. “It's alright, you’re safe. They’ve never hurt you before, they won’t start now. Remember to take long, deep breaths.”

Dimitri did as he was told, trying his best to calm himself.

“That’s good, you’re doing great, Dima.”

Every now and then, Dimitri would peak over his shoulder to check if the apparition was still there, but he would always quickly duck his head again. Raphael didn’t know how long they stayed like that, it could’ve been mere moments or hours, but he still held Dimitri in his arms, occasionally speaking to him in that low, comforting tone.

_You’re safe, they can’t hurt you. This will end eventually, you just have to hold on until then._

Finally, Dimitri checked once more and breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s gone.”

Raphael smiled at him gently. “I’m glad.”

Dimitri rested his head against Raphael’s chest again, obscuring his face in the process.

“I’m sorry,” he said, which Raphael could hardly make out between the low volume Dimitri had uttered it in and how it was muffled by his chest.

“How many times do I have to tell you, it’s alright.”

“I shouldn’t cling to you like a frightened child,” Dimitri said a bit louder.

“Being scared doesn’t make you a kid. If I saw things like that it’d scare me too.”

Dimitri moved away from Raphael just enough so that his voice wasn’t obscured anymore.

“It was a guard from Garreg Mach.” he said. “During the Adrestian invasion when we were still students. I was reckless, and when I was fighting an enemy soldier, another came up behind me without me noticing. The guard got between us, and he...”

Raphael rested his hand on the back of Dimitri’s head. “I’m sorry, Dima.”

“He died because of my foolishness.”

“It wasn’t your fault, sometimes things like that happen. You know how unpredictable battle is.”

“But…” Dimitri protested.

“Dima, that sort of thing has happened to everyone in our class, to everyone that fights in a war. You can’t see everything coming, and you can’t save everyone.”

Dimitri gripped the edge of the topmost blanket. “I know, but I can’t make peace with it. The fact that they haunt me still proves it. That, and I haven’t done enough. They can’t rest because of me.”

“You've done as much as you can. And you know that an eye for an eye doesn’t do anyone any good.”

“It was a long, hard lesson... But yes, I know. Yet they don't." Dimitri was quiet for a long moment before continuing. “Will they ever leave me be?”

“I don’t know, Dima.” Dimitri took a deep, shuddering breath. Raphael continued. “But you don’t need to face them alone. I can’t promise I’ll always be right there when you need help, but when I am, you can count on me.”

Dimitri sighed. “Thank you, Raphael. For your honesty, your support... Your love.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

Dimitri got up from bed, first taking a match from his nightstand to light the lantern next to it, and then moving to the chair he placed his long cloak on. He pulled his boots on and went back to pick up the lantern.

“You going for a walk?” Raphael asked. Dimitri nodded. He had a habit of doing so late at night when he couldn’t sleep, apparently he’d unintentionally startled a few servants and guards here and there.

“Can I come with you?”

Dimitri broke eye contact, looking off to the side. “You really don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

Dimitri gave him a reluctant little smile as he chuckled quietly. “What did I ever do to deserve you, my love?”

“Come on Dima, we’ve been over this before,” Raphael said as he stood, made his way over to Dimitri, and clasped his free hand in his own. “You don’t have to do anything to ‘deserve’ being loved.”

Dimitri stared at him for a short moment, as though he was holding back his natural instinct to deny that, but in the end he bit his tongue, smiling instead. “Thank you for being so patient with me and reminding me of that.”

“No problem! I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it.”

After Raphael had gotten his own clothes on, he again took Dimitri’s hand into his and smiled at him. Dimitri smiled back, and together, they made for the door.

Sometimes there were whispers about the king pacing through the hallways of the castle late at night, a distant, stormy expression on his face. And sometimes, people whispered about the king and one of his knights, his consort, walking the halls together, occasionally hand in hand. The king always seemed at peace when he was accompanied.


End file.
